All posts tagged Standard Bank

Standard Bank used to pin hopes for future growth on the expansion of its emerging market presence outside of Africa.

In the past 18 months though, the South Africa-based bank has sold an operation in Russia and is selling off another in Argentina. It cut staff in London, where it once employed more than 2,000 to about 1,200, and it more than halved employees in Hong Kong and looks set to slash headcount in Brazil.

At the same time, the company says it’s opening new branches in key markets in Africa such as Nigeria where it added 145 new branches in the past year and a half to total 175. It says it will have 200 by February 2013.

“You have to change the business model to [suit] what’s going on in the industry,” said Group Chief Executive Jacko Maree.

On Thursday, the bank posted a 9% increase in net profit for the first half of the year, but said operations outside of Africa posted “substantially lower second quarter revenues.”

If Standard Bank continues its focus on Africa, it may miss out on future growth in Europe. But for now, the growth in Africa looks more impressive. African Development Bank forecasts the continent as a whole may grow by 4.5% this year and 4.8% in 2013.

Johann Scholtz, an analyst at Afrifocus Securities, said that Standard Bank’s increased focus on Africa means the bank becomes a play on GDP inside Africa.